


Flight

by Coilerfan35



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Airbending!, F/M, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-01
Updated: 2012-06-01
Packaged: 2017-11-06 13:27:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/419415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coilerfan35/pseuds/Coilerfan35
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lin had taught him how to feel the world around him, instead of using his eyes to see. Now, Tenzin wants Lin to see the world, as airbenders do. In the air.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flight

“Tenzin. I'm starting to think this isn't a good idea.”

With a smile, the airbender turned his eyes onto his scared friend. She stood at the edge of a cliff over Yue Bay, clutching his glider in a vice like grip as she attempted to shuffle herself further away from the drop off. Shaking his head, Tenzin stood from his knelt position, and moved to her side. Comfortingly, his hand settled on the curve of her lower back, and instantly, she leaned into his embrace.

“Come on, Lin,” he laughed, sliding his arm around her lithe waist, and holding her tightly to his side. “Don't tell me you're scared.”

“I'm not scared,” she instantly spat, her eyes narrowing as she turned to look at him. “I just...don't think this is a good idea.”

“Hey,” he muttered, curling his finger under her chin and tilting her head up slightly. “Do you trust me?”

“Of course I do, Tenzin, and you know that,” Lin sighed, her bottom lip pouting out softly in thought. “It's just...you have to know that this isn't comfortable for me.”

“Neither is being blindfolded and then used as target practice for your earth bending,” he answered, as he leaned forward to place a tender kiss against her forehead. “You move like an airbender, Lin, and you understand the spiritual connotations that follow the art...but you've never actually felt them for yourself. Trust me, it'll be scary at first, but I'll be right beside you, and I won't let you fall. There is nothing you need to worry about.”

“What about those jagged rocks underneath this cliff?” she asked, tilting her head in direction of the cliff's edge. “I worry about those.”

Laughing once again, Tenzin's fingers softly cupped her chin before he silenced her with the pressure of his lips. Since the day he had grown brave enough to kiss her after she taught him the fundamentals of earth bending, their kisses grew increasingly frequent. At first, it started off as mere pecks that dripped of fear when they parted, but after close to a month, Lin took the initiative to push their kisses further. Now, they allowed their lips to join, and their tongues to play whenever they pleased...though such freedoms did come with a price, that usually involved them hiding from nosy, prying family members.

Sighing, her soft mewl of pleasure pulled him back, and he brushed his finger along the line of her jaw as the two attempted to replace the air missing from their lungs. Leaning forward, Lin's forehead touched Tenzin's shoulder, and she relished in the feeling of his soft hands running through the long strands of ebony hair that curled down her back. Calmed, and temporarily relieved of all worries, she placed a kiss against his neck, before she leaned back and looked up at him. “I understand that you want me to feel this...and I know you know that I'm scared, but I do trust you. I'll do it.”

Smiling happily, he covered the fingers she had clasped around his glider, and squeezed slightly. Instantly, the fans extending, and Lin jumped slightly at the surprise; a quiver of uneasiness settling in her stomach as Tenzin walked her closer to the cliff's edge. “Now, just do everything that I've told you. Hold on tight to the front, slide your toes into the back, and let the glider act as a second spine. Don't aim straight down, and try to keep your body relaxed. I'll be on Oogi doing all the real work.”

“Well if you're doing the work, you might as well have all the fun,” she said, attempting to hand the glider to him, but he refused to take it and chuckled softly.

“You deserve to have some fun too, Lin,” Tenzin assured, whistling for his bison, and waiting for his large, furry friend to land on the cliff. True to his nature, he arrived in seconds, and the young air bender propelled himself into the saddle. There, he gave a quick “yip yip” and braced himself for the lurch of take off, that steadied as soon as Oogi's feet left the ground. “Go ahead,” he urged, smiling as the wind brushed against them encouragingly and the bison slowly started floating away from the earthbender.

Taking in a deep breath, Lin tightened her fingers around the front of the glider and felt her limbs shaking from her paralyzing fear. She took a few steps back, and shot Tenzin a final look of uneasiness, before she threw caution, and herself, to the wind. Soaring off the edge of the cliff, her feet slipped into the back of the glider, and her muscles stiffened as her stomach seemed to fly into her throat, while the waters of the bay grew closer and closer.

Her heart slammed against her ribs, and her lips quivered as she shut her eyes and simply braced herself for the sharp impact she was expecting. Instead, she felt her body leveling out, and could feel the water parting under her from her speed. Opening her eyes, she watched as she flew just above the water, and gasped in surprise as she felt the glider tip upwards. With no effort on her part, she was carried to a higher altitude, and there, she witnessed Oogi, flying by her side with a young man standing on the bison's saddle, twirling about and executing perfect airbending forms.

Breathing in for the first time since she left the earth, she sighed as the air around her seemed fresher, and teeming with color. Her lips turned up as she managed to bank the glider to the right on one of Tenzin's currents of air, and a vibrant laugh escaped as she rolled and still managed to sail above the rest of the world. Below her, the water gave way to the streets of Republic City, and she howled from the skies above as the ant-sized people milled around below her.

From Oogi's back, Tenzin heard every chirp of happiness, every adrenaline fueled laugh that left her lips, and with every excited cry, his smile would grow brighter and brighter, until he was sure it would be plastered on his face forever. Beneath him, his bison lurched, and he noticed Lin swerving away from them, her independent nature taking over as she attempted to maneuver where she wanted.

She rolled the glider, and dove for the waters; laughing as she once again leveled out and turned to fly towards Air Temple Island. Disregarding Tenzin's home entirely, Lin's eyes focused on the large statue of Aang looking over the entirety of Republic City. Still young when the statue of commissioned, the earth bender saw more of Tenzin in the carved marble then she saw Aang, and as expected, her pulse sped up at the thought.

Sighing softly, she looked forward and watched as the sun set behind the horizon and the sky dyed itself an array of deep purples and light blues. Her mind reeled as she thought of Tenzin, sailing on Oogi behind her and sending strong blasts of wind that kept her elevated and safe. She thought of how much closer they had grown since they were children, and silently wondered how much closer they would grow still. Would they always remain this hidden couple, or would they finally admit to each other the feelings that always lingered between them? Would he, one warm night, take her in his arms and whisper the words she always wanted him to say, or would he be too scared, and she would have to say them first? Would she be brave enough to say the words at all?

Shaking the endless array of questions from head, she felt a strong burst of wind push her forward and her eyes turned to notice the cliff she had jumped from was mere feet away from her. Gliding forward, the wind beneath her died as soon as she touched the ground and the glider contracted with another squeeze of her hand. Looking behind her, she watched as Oogi landed beside her, and a soft laugh left her lips as a breathless and wide eyed Tenzin landed by his bison. Huffing, the airbender sat on the ground, and he looked up at Lin as his chest rose and fell frequently.

Chuckling, she handed him his glider and sat down across from him; her arms closing around her legs as she pulled them to her chest. Resting her chin on her knees, she watched as Tenzin fumbled for his breath, before he smiled, and attempted to form a full sentence without gasping. “So...how did it feel?”

“Amazing,” Lin whispered, gently running her finger through the loose earth below her. “But I won't lie to you...I was terrified.”

“That's how everyone feels their first time flying, even airbenders,” Tenzin assured, smiling at her and standing once his breathing was under control. Extending his hand, she slid her fingers into his palm, and he pulled her up before he tugged her into his arms. Weaving his fingers into her own, he kept their hands locked tight; his thumb brushing along the back of her hand, before he ducked his head and once again pressed his lips to hers.

Instantly, her emerald gaze was hidden by her eyelids, and she squeezed his hand before she tapped the earth below her with her toe, and was lifted up just enough to reach his height. She felt his lips quirk into a smile, and a shiver ran through her body as his fingers grazed along the curve of her spine. Sliding her arms around his neck, her lips parted to invite him into the sweet contours of her mouth, and her tongue eagerly extended to touch his own. He groaned at the contact, and tightened his arms around her before he responded to kiss with a far greater passion. Absently, one of her hands slid down to settle over his heart, and a soft moan left her lips as she felt the vibrations underneath her fingers, as well as through the ground.

Weakly, and reluctantly, he pulled his lips away from her, and once again fought to breathe. “Thank you,” he muttered, pressing his lips to the corner of her mouth before his fingers wove into the soft strands of her hair, and he buried his nose into the curve of her neck.

Gasping roughly, her fingers curved along his bald head as she felt his lips pucker against her soft skin. She placed a soft kiss of her own against his ear, and closed her eyes as he tightened his hold around her, and left no space between their bodies. “For what?” she asked, when she dared to break the silence, and her fingertips lovingly brushed across the back of his neck.

“Flying my glider,” he answered, as he breathed in her scent once more before leaning back to look into her shiny green eyes. “It's hard for me to explain, but...the fact that you trusted me enough to make you fly means a lot to me. Thank you.”

Smiling tenderly, and leaned forward and sealed their lips together; his eyes closing as a searing warmth flooded every inch of his body. One of her hands settled against his cheek, and he shivered as her lips spelled out words of pure emotion, while her tongue skillfully colored them. “You don't have to thank me,” she whispered against his mouth, both of their lips deliciously swollen. “You should know by now that I'd do anything to make you happy...”

He didn't tell her that night, but he was sure she knew once he felt his heart skip.

He was in love with Lin Beifong.

 

 


End file.
